


The Magic That You Do

by Aviss



Category: A Song of Ice and Fire - George R. R. Martin, Game of Thrones (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Romantic Comedy, F/M, Only You AU, Tumblr Prompt
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-17
Updated: 2019-11-17
Packaged: 2021-02-07 19:26:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,063
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21463285
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Aviss/pseuds/Aviss
Summary: Brienne has always known the name of the man destined for her, except soulmates don't exist and neither does destiny. Do they?The Only You AU I didn't know I wanted to write until I did.
Relationships: Jaime Lannister/Brienne of Tarth
Comments: 36
Kudos: 209





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> So I started this as one of my arcana prompts, and it grew because apparently it wanted to be a full fic. So here it is

It was all Galladon's fault, Brienne thought as she rushed through the streets of Dorne chasing after a shadow.

She shouldn't be here, should be back in Tarth getting ready for her upcoming nuptials to Hyle Hunt, the most boring man in the entire universe. Instead, she had boarded the first plane to Dorne the moment she had heard that name through the airport sound system while she was heading to customs after landing.

"This a Last Call for passenger Renly Baratheon, the flight DAL456 to Sunspear is about to depart, please make your way to gate 28."

She had tried to run there herself and see him, but gate 28 was on the other side of passport control.

A normal person would have just ignored it and carried on with her life, but in this Brienne wasn't normal.

Renly Baratheon was her fated husband, it had been foretold by a fortune teller when she was twelve and had claimed she hated men after Ron Connington had humiliated her in school. Galladon had taken her to the fair, and there the Red Priestess had looked into the fire and told her the name of her soulmate, the one man who would love her in spite of her looks. Had told Brienne she would know him as Renly Baratheon, and he would be as golden as the sun.

She had almost stopped believing in it once she grew up, soulmates were not really a thing in this world, fate didn't exist. She was willing to settle for Hyle, who didn't inspire passion but was steady and had proposed. Not the usual basis for a marriage, but apparently what she could get.

Except she wasn't as ready to settle as she had believed, Brienne had come out in arrivals in Tarth airport and ran to departures, and three hours later was boarding a plane to Sunspear.

And now she was running after Renly because she had heard the name in the square where she was sitting deciding what to do next, she had not thought about how creepy she was being, running after a man she had never met just because a Red Priestess had given his name when she was a child.

Though not as creepy as the man who was running after her with her shoe, which had become a victim of the crazy chase minutes before.

She looked right and left, suddenly realizing she had lost Renly and she didn't know what to do of where the hell she was. She had foolishly assumed the universe would point her in the right direction once she was here and arrange her meeting with her soulmate.

Dejected, she sat on the first bench she saw.

"Wow, those long legs of yours really give you an unfair advantage," the man who had been chasing her skid to a stop in front of her, brandishing her shoe. "Even lopsided."

She looked up at him then, scowling. It fell from her face when she saw him, the man was prettier than any man had a right to be, with bright green eyes and a roguish smile, short blond hair and a silvering stubble on his sculpted jaw. He was golden as the sun and miles out of Brienne's league.

She blinked at him, stunned.

"Sorry, do you speak the common tongue? Are you Westerosi?"

She shook herself out and nodded. "Yes, sorry."

He smiled at her. "You were in a hurry," he said, and Brienne suddenly remembered she had lost Renly. "Were you chasing a thief?"

"Oh no, I've lost him," she looked at his handsome stranger who probably had women throwing themselves at him and couldn't understand the pain of the unloved, those who had just missed their one chance to meet their destined person. "I've lost my soulmate, I've lost Renly."

The man startled visibly, his beautiful eyes widening impossibly.

_"I am Renly."_

"You can't be," she said, feeling her despair turn into anger at his careless joke.

"I am Renly Baratheon."

What?

…

Jaime stared after the tall blonde who had just lost a shoe in front of him. She, it was a she wasn't it? The shoe was from the women's collection. She ran faster than anyone Jaime had seen, not difficult considering she had legs for days.

He bent and picked up the shoe. The leather clasp had snapped, that was how she had lost it. She must have been in a hurry to leave it like that.

He weighed his options; he could go back to the restaurant where the yearly Lannister-Baratheon carnage was taking place. He didn't know if it had been Cersei's sour face or Robert's drunken groping of the waitress what had finally made Renly flee while Jaime was outside having a smoke, but he had been considering doing the same since the moment he had landed in Sunspear.

They still had a whole weekend of this bullshit and Tyrion had not deigned to come.

It was that what finally decided him, Jaime ground his cigarette and took at a run after the blonde.

She was wheezing several streets from where they had started, finally standing still. Jaime approached her, and when she looked up at him he felt as if he had been punched in the chest. Those eyes.

He had never seen eyes like that, not that blue or that beautiful. She was odd-looking, with millions of freckles and pale blonde hair and a too broad face, but those were the most unbelievable eyes he had ever seen.

He hoped she was single.

He did the same thing he'd always done in these cases, he babbled and hoped for the best. At least they spoke the same language.

"I've lost him," she said, and looked really despondent. "I've lost my soulmate." Jaime felt his heart fall. Of course a woman like this was taken. "I've lost Renly."

He blinked. What? He couldn't have heard that right. Was she running after Renly? Did she believe he was--but it must be wrong. Even then Renly was probably getting to his hotel, where Jaime knew Loras was waiting for him, and fucking his boyfriend into the mattress.

Renly couldn't be this woman's soulmate, not unless she was a lot less feminine than she already looked.

"I am Renly," his mouth said without input from his brain.

The woman narrowed her impressive eyes at him, suddenly tense and wary. "You can't be."

Jaime had one chance to tell the truth, but he knew that the moment he admitted it she would be out of his life forever. How difficult could it be to keep her away from the real Renly and the rest of their fucked-up family for one weekend?

"I am Renly Baratheon," Jaime said.

He could make her fall for him, and then one little lie would be forgiven. It was destined, after all. Right?

...


	2. Chapter 2

Brienne had never had a weekend like this in her life. She didn't even think they were possible for the likes of her. 

Her normal weekends were either at home, reading or watching movies, or out drinking with her friends. On occasion, if Hyle was feeling especially romantic after he had been hanging with his friends, they'd go watch a movie the two of them together. It usually was an action movie, which Brienne didn't dislike but some days she was in the mood for a romantic comedy. 

"You don't like romance, do you?" was what Hyle had said the one time Brienne had brought it up. "You're not like a girly girl, you know, you play sports and do martial arts and well," he had looked at her top to bottom, all six feet three inches of her towering over him by half a foot, and that had been the end of the argument. Brienne had not tried to bring it up again, instead watched terrible action movies on _romantic_ dates with her fiancee. 

Renly, though, had not made any assumptions since the moment he had met her. 

They had spent that first night together, not in a sexy way though Brienne wouldn't object to that in different circumstances. Renly was the hottest man alive and her mouth watered just at the idea of kissing him, but she was set to marry Hyle and Brienne didn't like the idea of cheating.

They had spent the night first in a restaurant, where he had just handed the menu to her and said, "Everything here is amazing, though their crab buns are just to die for." No comments about her size, no mentions of salad, no judgement when she'd said she didn't drink alcohol. "Try their homemade cola, then," he said, his smile not wavering at all.

She'd had to fight for literal years to get Hyle to stop buying her beers when they went out.

They had been kicked out of the restaurant when they were closing and from there they had gone to walk around the beach.

"If you want to go to your hotel, I'll walk you there," Renly had offered and Brienne had been too embarrassed to admit she didn't have one because she technically shouldn't be there. 

"Not yet," she had said instead. "I'm not tired."

They had ended laying down on the sand and watching the stars while they chatted about everything and anything. Renly was a lawyer because his father wouldn't have it any other way, though he liked to design clothes and shoes in his spare time. He had siblings, the downturn of his mouth when he mentioned his sister made Brienne not ask about them anymore. He was rich as a Lannister, the cut and quality of his clothes attesting to that, and as golden as them, and if he hadn't known her Renly's surname without her mentioning it, she would have never believed he wasn't one. 

Renly also asked questions and listened while Brienne talked about her life in King's Landing, where she taught in a school for unprivileged children, and her family in Tarth, whom she loved dearly but drove her mad. They ended up falling asleep on the beach, the warm Dornish night and the exhaustion of the day catching up to them.

In the morning they woke up with sand in their hair, among many other places, Renly's golden curls in complete disarray. He smiled at her, his green eyes crinkling in the corners, and Brienne knew he really was her soulmate, her heart beating frantically in her chest.

The rest of the day had only made it more obvious. They did the kind of things she had always wanted to do with Hyle but he found boring. They went to a museum, Renly flittered excitedly from exhibit to exhibit.

"I used to read the stories of the age of heroes and the second Targaryen era," Renly said, his voice filled with awe standing in front of a display of weapons, the spear that was said to have belonged to Prince Oberyn in place of pride among other treasures. 

"So did I," Brienne admitted. 

"Who was your favourite? I bet it was the Maid of Tarth," he said with a smirk, but there was nothing mocking on it. 

"And yours, let me guess King Robert?" He was nobody's favourite though, even if he shared Renly's surname. 

Renly grimaced. "Arthur Dayne, the sword of the morning. That was a real knight!"

They had discussed the legends all the way through the exhibits, and at some point, Renly had taken her hand to pull her aside so some people in a hurry could pass, and then never released it. Brienne had flushed but not removed her hand from his, and when he squeezed it and smiled again at Brienne her heart had expanded three sizes in her chest.

There were some oddities as well, but she had not really paid attention to them. Renly had taken them to a hotel and booked two rooms, though he probably had his own somewhere, after Brienne had finally confessed she didn't have one. He had also taken them to a restaurant he said was good but turned back the moment the door had opened, saying there were no tables. He'd also been ignoring his phone, which Brienne had felt vibrating in his pocket at some point. He hadn't even looked at the screen while she was around. 

She had been doing the same, except for the quick texts she had sent her father and Hyle telling them not to worry. She knew she had to break the engagement, but she didn't want to do it by text.

She should have paid more attention to those things, she knew that, but it was impossible to be on her guard when someone like Renly looked at her like she was unique and beautiful. Those kinds of looks had always been reserved for the likes of Sansa, not for big Brienne. 

"I want to see you again in King's Landing," Renly said. They were sitting in a booth in a Lysseni restaurant, the delicious food spread all over the table, their hands entwined on top of it. 

She smiled. "Me too."

"But I fear that when I tell--"

"There you are, _brother_," a sharp voice carried in the restaurant and Renly stiffened, his eyes widening in horror. Brienne thought about the calls unanswered, about the hotel room and about avoiding places, then she remembered his expression when talking about his sister. Brienne saw her when she stopped by their table and shouldn't have been surprised at how beautiful she was, the resemblance to Renly was astounding. The same golden curls and the same green eyes, a face and body that belonged in movies, though her expression was anything but pleasant. "You've been avoiding us all weekend. And for what?" She looked at Brienne and her lip curled in distaste.

"I sent you a message I had met a friend," Renly said, his tone sharper than Brienne had heard him the entire time. 

"Are you going to introduce me to your _friend_ or should I do it myself?"

Renly's shoulders hunched and he looked at the door. "Brienne, this is my sister, Cersei Baratheon." He looked at his sister. "Now, happy? Is that Robert waiting for you outside?"

"It's Lannister." Cersei's lips curled in distaste. "You know perfectly well I never changed my name, Jaime." Renly closed his eyes and dropped his head, his hand clenching around Brienne's. That was when the name registered in her mind. Jaime. 

_She had called him Jaime_. 


	3. Chapter 3

Things had been going so well that, of course, everything had to go to shit in under a minute.

And of course, Cersei had to be the one responsible for it. Jaime wasn't even surprised anymore. 

He looked from Brienne's big blue eyes which were staring at him with hurt and betrayal creeping into them, to Cersei's half-smile. She might not know exactly what she'd done, but she knew she had ruined something for Jaime and that was good enough for her.

Brienne took her hand away, pressing it against her breastbone as if in pain. "Jaime," she said, her voice soft as if speaking just to herself. "Jaime Lannister. I was right, you were rich and golden enough to be one."

She stood from the booth and left, not looking back. Jaime stood to follow but Cersei was blocking his path. "Where are you going? Is that even a woman?"

He grabbed a handful of notes from his wallet and dropped them on the table, no time to wait for the bill, and moved Cersei aside. "Go back to your husband, sister," he said without looking back and rushed after Brienne. 

He couldn't let her disappear. 

He knew he shouldn't have lied when he had met her but he had wanted to get to know her. Now that he had, he knew she was the one for him. He might not be his soulmate, but she definitely was his. He had never had a weekend like this one, without expectations or pretence. Women usually wanted something with him because he was a Lannister, but Brienne didn't know or care that he was. She wasn't artificial either, she laughed with her entire body, big braying laughs that made her blush when the people around them looked to see why they were laughing. She wasn't afraid to ask for the things she wanted and didn't do things to please him. And she hadn't laughed at him when he told her about his designs, or when they talked about their love for knights and legends.

He knew he had lied to her, but only about his name. 

He was more than his name. 

"Brienne!" he caught her outside of the restaurant and grabbed her arm to make her stop. "Brienne wait."

She whirled around, Jaime flinched when he saw her tear-filled eyes. "Let me go, _Jaime_," she hissed and he shook his head.

"No, listen to me, I'm sorry."

"Let me go!"

They were attracting an audience. Out of the corner of his eye, Jaime saw Cersei looking from the restaurant's door, next to her were Robert and the rest of his wretched family. Including, of course, Renly and Loras. Perfect, this was just perfect. 

"Brienne please, listen to me. I only--"

"How could you?" she whispered, her tears finally falling. Jaime felt his stomach twisting at her pain. 

"I'm so sorry, I only lied about my name. The rest, what we've shared, has been real," he rushed to say, trying to get her to listen. "I'm still the person you've been with these two days. I fell in love with your eyes in that square, that's the reason I lied." He knew he sounded desperate, close to begging but didn't care. She couldn't just leave now. 

"Love? Everything you've said has been a lie," she said, straightening her spine. She dried her eyes with the back of her hand. "Let go of me, I might still have time to find my real soulmate before my flight."

"It's not Renly Baratheon," Jaime said, and Renly shot them a look. 

"How do you know?" Brienne asked, her voice now suspicious. "How did you know that was his surname that day in the square? I never said it."

"Because we're family! That's Renly Baratheon," Jaime exclaimed, pointing at where they were all clustered staring at them. Cersei and Robert looked amused, Stannis horrified at the public scene and Renly and Loras looked puzzled. Brienne turned to look at Renly. "And the guy next to him is his boyfriend."

Brienne looked at Renly and Loras for a moment, when she turned back to Jaime her expression smoothed completely. "Let go of me, Jaime." 

He did.

She turned and started walking away. "Brienne," he called but she didn't stop, just hunched her shoulders and pretended not to hear. 

"Well, this is the most entertaining family reunion since we got married," Robert said with a booming laugh. "We should do this again."

...

Jaime was waiting at the airport when Brienne arrived. 

She had made the mistake of telling him about her flight during one of the million hours of conversation they had over the weekend, and he had obviously remembered it. Her heart clenched seeing him there, waiting for her, his eyes downcast and a dejected air around him. Brienne shook herself out of it, he had been lying to her, he had no right to feel sad that she didn't want anything with him now. 

She had finally called home and told her father about the whole thing, the red priestess and Renly and how she had run the moment she had heard the name. Her father had listened not interrupting her, then had asked one question. "You fell for him, right? I'll call off the wedding."

It was for the best, Brienne knew, she should have never agreed to marry Hyle when she didn't really love him, but had not known how little they had in common or liked each other until now. 

It all came back to Jaime. 

"Brienne," he called her as she approached security. She considered briefly to just keep walking and ignore him, Kings Landing was a big city, once she was in that plane, that was it, she would never see him again. She stopped and turned to him, he brightened up. "Let me explain."

"_No_," she said and his face fell immediately. "I won't believe anything you have to say. You lied to me, you pretended to be someone else the entire time."

"No," Jaime shook his head. "I only lied about my name, everything else was real."

"I don't believe you," she said, Jaime winced, a flash of pain on his face. "You took what had been my dream since childhood and made it into a joke. There are no soulmates. Thanks to you I don't believe in destiny or in love anymore."

She left him there and went through security, where he couldn't follow her. She was still thinking about Jaime, about the hurt expression on his face when she had turned away from him, when she boarded the plane. She took her seat still thinking about him, about how he had respected her when she said she was engaged and done nothing but take her hand, about how he'd taken her on more romantic outings in a weekend than ever before in her life. She thought about his beautiful eyes and his beautiful smile, and wanted to cry again.

Brienne sniffled and wiped at her eyes when the tears threatened. The seat next to her was filled and she looked to make sure they weren't paying attention to her. 

"_You_!" Brienne exclaimed at the sight of the red priestess sitting there. It had been almost twenty years ago, and the woman looked like she hadn't aged a day, but Brienne could tell it was her. She remembered her red hair and eyes, and the pulsating jewel by her neck. "You lied to me."

She felt like an idiot the moment the words left her mouth. Even if this was the same woman she wasn't going to remember Brienne. 

"Did I?" the priestess said, her voice deep and melodic. She looked at Brienne and arched up and eyebrow. "I never lie, I always say what I'm shown in the flames."

"You told me my soulmate was Renly."

"Is that what I said?" Brienne stared at her, indignation rising inside of her. She remembered what the priestess had told her, she remembered it perf--Brienne blinked, her mouth falling open in shock. _You will know him as Renly Baratheon_, had been the exact words. And it was true. That was how she had known him, even if it wasn't his name. Around her, the entire flight was sitting down and the hostess was about to close the door. "Jaime's still in the terminal."

Brienne released her seatbelt and practically bolted from her seat. "Sorry, I have to leave, sorry," she said, pushing until she was at the door, which the hostess had almost closed. "Stop please, I have to get back to the terminal, my soulmate is there!"

The air hostess looked at her like she was mad, but Brienne didn't care as long as she opened the door. She did and Brienne rushed out, running down the stairs and through the tarmac until she was back inside the terminal. She ran all the way back out and into Departures. 

Jaime wasn't by the security gates anymore and Brienne's heart fell. She scanned the area and finally saw Jaime's blond head by the big windows, watching the flights depart. He had one hand and his forehead against the glass, his hunched posture radiating misery. 

He hadn't been lying about how he felt about her. 

"Jaime," Brienne called and he snapped to attention, turning to her with wide eyes. She ran to him and pressed his against the glass, finally doing the thing she had wanted to do the entire weekend. She pressed her mouth against Jaime's, he froze for a fraction of a second and then returned it enthusiastically, holding her hard against him.

"How?" he asked when they parted for breath, though he immediately kissed her again, preventing her answer. 

"I met an old friend who opened my eyes," Brienne said and kissed him. 

...


End file.
